Iranian President Hassan Rouhani vowed that his country would resist tough new U.S. sanctions on Iran’s oil and banks on Monday, as Tehran braced for a new era of political and economic isolation.
“Unfair sanctions are against the law, U.N. resolutions and international accords. Therefore, we will proudly break the sanctions,” Rouhani said on national television after the sanctions took effect at the stroke of midnight in Washington, or 8:30 a.m. in Tehran.
Read: Here’s what U.S. waivers on Iran oil sanctions mean for the global crude market
The sanctions signaled the end of American involvement in a multinational nuclear accord and punctuated the political realignment in the Middle East, with the U.S. and allies like Saudi Arabia and Israel lining up against Iran. The sanctions threaten to reduce Iran’s exports to the global oil CLZ8, -0.33% and jolt a large regional economy that was already buckling.
Oil prices had risen in recent weeks in anticipation of the sanctions, but they fell Monday with Brent crude LCOF9, -0.07% the international benchmark, sinking about 0.69% to $72.33. The U.S. has scrambled to ensure a well-supplied oil market in the event of Iranian declines, and Saudi Arabia—the world’s biggest crude exporter—has vowed to step up output to fill the gap.
Rouhani said Iran’s oil industry had already shown its resilience, pointing to waivers that the U.S. granted last week to eight countries allowing them to continue importing Iranian crude and not be penalized. The U.S. had pushed countries to cut their purchases to zero by Sunday.
The U.S. didn’t name the countries granted exemptions, although China, Turkey and India were considered likely recipients.
An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.
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